Dehydrated precooked pinto beans have heretofore been manufactured into chipped beans by first cooking the beans in a device that is similar to a conventional roaster. After cooking, the beans are pumped out of the cooking device and into trays. At this point the whole beans are in a liquid state. While the cooked pinto beans are in the trays they are quick frozen. The frozen blocks of beans are directed through a chipper and are then dehydrated. The finished dehydrated precooked chipped pinto beans are then packaged for sale.
The foregoing and other processes for preparing dehydrated precooked chipped pinto beans are deficient in that the resulting product is relatively low in nutritional value. The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other difficulties which have long since characterized the prior art by providing a process for manufacturing dehydrated precooked flaked pinto beans which results in virtually no loss of nutritional value and shrinkage of less than 1%.
In accordance with the broader aspects of the invention, a carefully prepared mixture of cleaned raw pinto beans and water is cooked in a steam jacketed pressure vessel. The cooking process results in absorption of substantially all of the water from the mixture into the pinto beans. Following cooking, the pinto beans are discharged from the pressure vessel into a holding hopper which directs the cooked pinto beans onto a perforated stainless steel conveyor.
The perforated stainless steel conveyor transports the cooked pinto beans through a dehydrator which reduces the moisture content of the cooked pinto beans to about 20%. Following dehydration the pinto beans are directed through corrugated rollers which press the cooked pinto beans into flakes. The cooked and dehydrated pinto bean flakes are then directed through a second dehydrator which reduces the moisture content of the pinto beans flakes to between about 10% and about 3%. After passing through the second dehydrator, the dehydrated precooked flaked pinto beans are packaged for distribution and sale.
A second embodiment of the present invention comprises an alternate sequence of steps and required equipment. In accordance with the specific aspects of the second embodiment, the beans are first processed through a flume destoner where the beans are cleansed and pre-soaked utilizing heated water. From the flume destoner, the beans are discharged into a full vacuum kettle along with a predetermined quantity of water. Steam is then injected into the kettle for pressure cooking the beans and heating the water therein to create more steam. The steam is maintained at about 13.5 psi thereby cooking the beans in a period of about 40 minutes.
The cooked beans are then discharged into a holding hopper which thereafter discharges a regulated flow of beans onto a vibrating water separating conveyor utilizing heated water for separation of the beans thereon. As the beans reach the end of the conveyor, heated oil is sprayed thereover prior to the beans entering a roller mill. The roller mill utilizes smooth heated rollers for converting the cleaned, cooked beans into flakes. The combination of the oil-misted beans with the smooth heated roller facilitates softening and stretching of the bean's skin ultimately resulting in a more tender, more flavorful bean product.
The roller mill discharges the bean flakes onto a perforated stainless steel conveyor which directs the beans through a dehydrator wherein the moisture content of the bean flakes is reduced to between about 7% and about 9%. The bean flakes are then directed through a cooler which circulates ambient air across the dehydrated bean flakes to cool then flakes to a suitable temperature for packaging.